catchy but inapt, back and apter than ever!, never before less titularly relevant, debatable.

May 13, 2004

there is only one tree hill. and it's your home.

This Tree Hill post feels special. Not just because it's the season finale, but because I'm posting from North Carolina, where it all happens, just minutes away from the town that is Whitey Durham's namesake. I have to say though, I've spent my first 24 hours here looking for where in the world Haley and Nathan would find an all-day wedding chapel that caters to 16 year olds, and the whole thing seems just a tad unlikely. Still, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's wrap up this year, one fascinatingly inconsistent character at a time.

Luke- He's a complicated man, not even understood by his women. First we think he's an outcast. A guy who reads Steinbeck, and hangs out with his mom. By the end of the season he's gotten a tattoo, cheated on his girlfriend, had a one-night stand with a stranger, and is leaving his mother to live with Keith for absolutely no reason. It's a good thing Chad Mike has that excellent soul-patch. Right now it's Lucas's only redeeming quality

Nathan- He was an asshole. And then he wasn't. And then he was. And then he wasn't, but he looked at porn sometimes, and that's asshole-ish. Now, he's married. Go figure.

Peyton- My biggest concern with Peyton's character arc is that she apparently doesn't draw anymore. And this disturbs me, because without her incredibly on-the-nose "comics" I have no idea how's she's feeling. Even when the writers have her state, in no uncertain terms, exactly what is going on and how it affects her emotionally, I don't follow. I guess I'm just a visual learner.

Brooke- I came to terms with Brooke, or the Boosh as she is known, when I realized that everything she does is simply to maximize her hotness factor. Whether it's messing with people's burgeoning relationships, getting her friend almost date-raped, becoming nearly pregnant, or hanging out with bad girls in bars, Brooke is going to do it in tight clothes with a knowing smirk. And why not? The WB found themselves a hottie, they should get their money's worth.

Haley- Hales. Haley Hale Hales. You had to love her initial underdoggish attributes. She was the studious shy one, a mere pawn in the Scott brother's games. The Boosh (ever-so hotly) insisted on referring to her as tutor-girl. She represented us, really, lost in the crazy world of One Tree Hill. And then she got ever-so-slightly annoying. She gave Nate her heart, but not her cooch, and boy did we hear about it. Hey Hales, this is trite and well-tread ground you're walking on. That is of course, until the marriage part. Sorry about that, Mrs. Nathan Scott.

Dan Scott- What can I say about the incomparable Dan Scott? The only character so good that they kept him just the way he was, from episode 1. To have him, on the floor in cardiac arrest mind you, actually utter "you better hope I die" to the ex-wife who is trying to save him is astounding brilliance. For this, and for his continued ability to be lurking just out of frame horror movie style, I hereby name Dan Scott season one's MVP. I know I never stated that I had the intention of handing out an MVP award, but what can I say, I was swept up in the moment.

Well there it was, a season of insanity wrapped up in one last overly-lengthy self-indulgent post. And with that, I am off to South Carolina!